On January 19, 1955, Paul Howard Rose, founder of the chain of Rose’s discount department stores, died at age 73.
Topics Related to This Day in North Carolina History
Image of the Allan Jackson, from the Library of Contemporary History, Stuttgart.
On January 18, 1863, a Civil War tragedy that has come to be known as the Shelton Laurel Massacre took place.
An image of the clash is now held by the State Archives
A poster advertising Chang and Eng, now housed in the State Archives
On January 17, 1865, Fort Caswell was abandoned as Confederates retreating from Fort Fisher detonated the fort’s powder magazines. The explosion destroyed the entire southeast face of the fort and damaged the western face.A soldier quoted in The Daily North Carolinian stated:We were aroused from our slumbers at 2 o’clock yesterday morning by an explosion, which shook our office to its foundation. We have ascertained since that it was Fort Caswell, blown up by our troops after its evacuation.
On January 23, 1844, William Gaston died. A poet, politician and lifelong student of the law, Gaston was a leading figure in 19th century North Carolina politics. After growing up in New Bern and attending New Bern Academy, he graduated from Princeton in 1798 and was admitted to the bar later that year. In 1800, he transitioned from law to politics, serving in both houses of the General Assembly and in the U.S. House of Representatives.
1866 Jewett leg that was issued to Samuel Clark of Granville County. Image from North Carolina Museum of History
On January 23, 1950, after a 14-year hiatus, the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse once again shone its beacon over the Atlantic Ocean to warn mariners of the dangers of Diamond Shoals. The 208-foot tower had been abandoned because of the encroaching sea, and its signal was temporarily replaced by a light atop a steel structure, known as the skeleton tower, built near the lighthouse site.
On January 22, 1828, Edward Warren, surgeon general of North Carolina and senior medical officer to the Egyptian khedive, was born in Tyrrell County.After earning his medical degree, Warren practiced medicine briefly alongside his father before departing for Paris, where he continued his studies. He returned to North Carolina in 1855, but soon left for a position as a professor of medicine at the University of Maryland.